(a) Blanket certificate. Any interstate pipeline may apply under this section for a single blanket certificate authorizing the transportation of natural gas on behalf of others in accordance with this subpart. A certificate of public convenience and necessity under this section is granted pursuant to section 7 of the Natural Gas Act.

(b) Application procedure. (1) An application for a blanket certificate under this section must be filed electronically. The format for the electronic application filing available through the Commission's website, https://www.ferc.gov, and must include:

(i) The name of the interstate pipeline; and

(ii) A statement by the interstate pipeline that it will comply with the conditions in paragraph (c) of this section.

(2) Upon receipt of an application under this section, the Commission will conduct a hearing pursuant to section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act and § 157.11 of this chapter and, if required by the public convenience and necessity, will issue to the interstate pipeline a blanket certificate authorizing such pipeline company to transport natural gas, as provided under this subpart.

(c) General conditions. Any blanket certificate under this subpart is subject to the conditions of subpart A of this part.

(d) Pre-grant of abandonment. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (d)(2) of this section, abandonment of transportation services is authorized pursuant to section 7(b) of the Natural Gas Act upon the expiration of the contractual term or upon termination of each individual transportation arrangement authorized under a certificate granted under this section.

(2) Paragraph (d)(1) of this section does not apply if the individual transportation arrangement is for firm transportation under a contract with a term of one year or more, and the firm shipper:

(i) Exercises any contractual right to continue such service; or

(ii) Gives notice that it wants to continue its transportation arrangement and will match the longest term and highest rate for its firm service, up to the applicable maximum rate under § 284.10, offered to the pipeline during the period established in the pipeline's tariff for receiving such offers by any other person desiring firm capacity, and executes a contract matching the terms of any such offer. To be eligible to exercise this right of first refusal, the firm shipper's contract must be for service for twelve consecutive months or more at the applicable maximum rate for that service, except that a contract for more than one year, for a service which is not available for 12 consecutive months, would be subject to the right of first refusal.

(e) Availability of regular certificates. This subpart does not preclude an interstate pipeline from applying for an individual certificate of public convenience and necessity for any particular transportation service.

(f) Cross references. (1) Any local distribution company served by an interstate pipeline may apply for a blanket certificate to perform certain services under § 284.224 of this chapter.

(2) Any interstate pipeline may apply under subpart F of part 157 of this chapter for a blanket certificate to construct or acquire and operate certain natural gas facilities that are necessary to provide transportation under § 284.223.

(3) Section 157.208 of this chapter provides automatic authorization for the construction, acquisition, operation, replacement, and miscellaneous rearrangement of certain eligible facilities, as defined in § 157.202 of this chapter, subject to limits specified in § 157.208(d) of this chapter and § 284.11.

(4) Authorization for delivery points is subject to the automatic authorization under § 157.211(a)(1) and the prior notice procedures under § 157.211(a)(2) and § 157.205.

(g) Flexible receipt point authority. (1) An interstate pipeline authorized to transport gas under a certificate granted under this section may, at the request of the shipper and without prior notice:

(i) Reduce or discontinue receipts of natural gas at a particular receipt point from a supplier; and

(ii) Commence or increase receipts at a particular receipt point from that supplier or any other supplier.

(2) The total natural gas volumes received by the interstate pipeline following any such reassignment under this paragraph must not exceed the total volume of natural gas that the interstate pipeline may transport on behalf of the shipper under a certificate granted under this section.

(3) The receipt points to which natural gas volumes may be reassigned under this paragraph include eligible facilities under § 157.208 which are authorized to be constructed and operated pursuant to a certificate issued under subpart F of part 157 of this chapter.

(h) Flexible delivery point authority. (1) An interstate pipeline authorized to transport gas under a certificate issued pursuant to this section may at the request of the shipper and without prior notice:

(i) Reduce or discontinue deliveries of natural gas to a particular delivery point; and

(ii) Commence or increase deliveries at a particular delivery point.

(2) The total natural gas volumes delivered by the interstate pipeline following any such reassignment must not exceed the total amount of natural gas that the interstate pipeline is authorized under a certificate issued pursuant to this section to transport on behalf of the shipper.

(3) The delivery points to which natural gas volumes may be reassigned under this paragraph include facilities authorized to be constructed and operated only under § 157.211 and the prior notice conditions of § 157.205 of this chapter.

[Order 436, 50 FR 42496, Oct. 18, 1985, as amended by Order 433-A, 51 FR 43607, Dec. 3, 1986; Order 636, 57 FR 13317, Apr. 16, 1992; Order 636-A, 57 FR 36217, Aug. 12, 1992; Order 581, 60 FR 53073, Oct. 11, 1995; Order 603, 64 FR 26610, May 14, 1999; Order 637, 65 FR 10222, Feb. 25, 2000; Order 637-A, 65 FR 35765, June 5, 2000; Order 899, 88 FR 74031, Oct. 30, 2023]

Subject to the provisions of this subpart and the conditions of Subpart A of this part, any interstate pipeline issued a certificate under § 284.221 is authorized, without prior notice to or approval by the Commission, to transport natural gas for any duration for any shipper for any end-use by that shipper or any other person.

[Order 436, 50 FR 42497, Oct. 18, 1985; 50 FR 45908, Nov. 5, 1985, as amended at 50 FR 52276, Dec. 23, 1985; Order 537, 56 FR 50245, Oct. 4, 1991; Order 581, 60 FR 53074, Oct. 11, 1995; Order 637, 65 FR 10222, Feb. 25, 2000]

(a) Applicability. This section applies to local distribution companies served by interstate pipelines, including persons who are not subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission, by reason of section 1(c) of the Natural Gas Act.

(b) Blanket certificate—(1) Any local distribution company served by an interstate pipeline or any Hinshaw pipeline may apply for a blanket certificate under this section.

(2) Upon application for a certificate under this section, a hearing will be conducted under section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act, § 157.11 of this chapter, and subpart H of part 385 of this chapter.

(3) The Commission will grant a blanket certificate to such local distribution company or Hinshaw pipeline under this section, if required by the present or future public convenience and necessity. Such certificate will authorize the local distribution company to engage in the sale or transportation of natural gas that is subject to the Commission's jurisdiction under the Natural Gas Act, to the same extent that and in the same manner that intrastate pipelines are authorized to engage in such activities by subparts C and D of this part, except as otherwise provided in paragraph (e)(2) of this section.

(c) Application procedure. Applications for blanket certificates must be accompanied by the fee prescribed in § 381.207 of this chapter or a petition for waiver pursuant to § 381.106 of this chapter, and shall state:

(1) The exact legal name of applicant; its principal place of business; whether an individual, partnership, corporation or otherwise; the state under the laws of which it is organized or authorized; the agency having jurisdiction over rates and tariffs; and the name, title, and mailing address of the person or persons to whom communications concerning the application are to be addressed;

(2) The volumes of natural gas which:

(i) Were received during the most recent 12-month period by the applicant within or at the boundary of a state, and

(ii) Were exempt from the Natural Gas Act jurisdiction of the Commission by reason of section 1(c) of the Natural Gas Act, if any;

(3) The total volume of natural gas received by the applicant from all sources during the same time period;

(4) Citation to all currently valid declarations of exemption issued by the Commission under section 1(c) of the Natural Gas Act if any;

(5) A statement that the applicant will comply with the conditions in paragraph (e) of this section;

(6) A form of notice suitable for publication in the Federal Register, as contemplated by § 157.9 of this chapter, which will briefly summarize the facts contained in the application in such way as to acquaint the public with its scope and purpose; and

(7) A statement of the methodology to be used in calculating rates for services to be rendered, setting forth any elections under § 284.123 or paragraph (e)(2) of this section and a sample calculation employing the methodology using current data. If a rate election is made under paragraph (e)(2) of this section, this statement shall contain the following items (reflecting the 12-month period used to justify costs in the most recently approved rate case conducted by an appropriate state regulatory agency):

(i) Total operating revenues,

(ii) Purchase gas costs,

(iii) Distribution costs (which include that portion of the common costs allocated to the distribution function),

(iv) The volume throughput of the system categorized by sales, transportation and exchange service, and

(v) A study which determines transportation costs on a unit revenue basis in accordance with paragraph (e)(2) of this section, including any supporting work papers.

(d) Effect of certificate. (1) Any certificate granted under this section will authorize the certificate holder to engage in transactions of the type authorized by subparts C and D of this part.

(2) Acceptance of a certificate or conduct of an activity authorized thereunder will:

(i) Not impair the continued validity of any exclusion under section 1(c) of the Natural Gas Act which may be applicable to the certificate holder, and

(ii) Not subject the certificate holder to the Natural Gas Act jurisdiction to the Commission except to the extent necessary to enforce the terms and conditions of the certificate.

(e) General conditions. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (e)(2) of this section, any transaction authorized under a blanket certificate is subject to the same rates and charges, terms and conditions, and reporting requirements that apply to a transaction authorized for an intrastate pipeline under subparts C and D of this part.

(2) Rate election. If the certificate holder does not have any existing rates on file with the appropriate state regulatory agency for city-gate service, the certificate holder may make the rate election specified in § 284.123(b)(1) only if:

(i) The certificate holder's existing rates are approved by an appropriate state regulatory agency,

(ii) The rates and charges for any transportation are computed by using the portion of the certificate holder weighted average annual unit revenue (per MMBtu) generated by existing rates which is attributable to the cost of gathering, treatment, processing, transportation, delivery or similar service (including storage service), and

(iii) The Commission has approved the method for computing rates and charges specified in paragraph (e)(2)(ii) of this section.

(3) Volumetric test. The volumes of natural gas sold or assigned under the blanket certificate may not exceed the volumes obtained from sources other than interstate supplies.

(4) Filings. Any filings made with the Commission that report individual transactions shall reference the docket number of the proceeding in which the blanket certificate was granted.

(5) Filing Requirements. Filings under this section must comply with the requirements of § 284.123 (f) of this part. The tariff filing requirements of Part 154 of this chapter shall not apply to transactions authorized by the blanket certificate.

(f) Pregrant of abandonment. Abandonment of transportation services or sales, pursuant to section 7(b) of the Natural Gas Act, is authorized upon the expiration of the contractual term of each individual arrangement authorized by a blanket certificate under this section.

(g) Hinshaw pipeline without blanket certificate. A Hinshaw pipeline that does not obtain a blanket certificate under this section is not authorized to sell or transport natural gas as an intrastate pipeline under subparts C and D of this part.

(h) Definitions. For the purposes of this section:

(1) A Hinshaw pipeline means any person engaged in the transportation of natural gas which is not subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission under the Natural Gas Act solely by reason of section 1(c) of the Natural Gas Act.

(2) Interstate supplies means any natural gas obtained, either directly or indirectly, from:

(i) The system supplies of an interstate pipeline, or

(ii) Natural gas reserves which were committed or dedicated to interstate commerce on November 8, 1978.

[45 FR 1875, Jan. 9, 1980, as amended by Order 319, 48 FR 34891, Aug. 1, 1983; 48 FR 35635, Aug. 5, 1983; Order 433, 50 FR 40346, Oct. 3, 1985. Redesignated and amended by Order 436, 50 FR 42497, 42498, Oct. 18, 1985; Order 478, 52 FR 28467, July 30, 1987; Order 581, 60 FR 53074, Oct. 11, 1995; Order 714, 73 FR 57535, Oct. 3, 2008]

(a) Blanket certificate. A blanket certificate shall issue under this section to any intrastate pipeline that receives natural gas produced in adjacent Federal waters or onshore or offshore in an adjacent state, provided that:

(1) The gas must be received by the intrastate pipeline from a gatherer or other intrastate pipeline;

(2) The intrastate pipeline delivers the gas in the intrastate pipeline's state of operation to an end user or another intrastate pipeline; and

(3) The gas ultimately used by an end user in the same state.

(b) Effective date. If an intrastate pipeline is providing a transportation service described in paragraph (a) of this section as of February 1, 1992, and the service is not a qualifying service under § 284.122 of subpart C of this part, a blanket certificate shall issue under paragraph (a) of this section and become effective as of February 1, 1992. If an intrastate pipeline is not providing a transportation service described in paragraph (a) of this section as of February 1, 1992 the blanket certificate shall issue and become effective on the date that the intrastate pipeline commences such a service that is not a qualifying service under § 284.122 of subpart C of this part.

(c) Acceptance of certificate. An intrastate pipeline shall be deemed to have accepted a blanket certificate under this section if it continues after February 1, 1992, a service described in paragraph (a) of this section that is not a qualifying service under § 284.122 of subpart C or commences such a service after November 4, 1991.

(d) Terms and conditions. An intrastate pipeline's blanket certificate transportation authority under this section is subject to its compliance with all terms and conditions of subpart C of this part, except that service under this section does not have to be on behalf of an interstate pipeline or local distribution company served by an interstate pipeline.

(e) Pregrant of abandonment. Abandonment of transportation services, pursuant to section 7(b) of the Natural Gas Act, is authorized upon the expiration of the contractual term of each individual arrangement authorized by a blanket certificate under this section.

(f) Effect of certificate. Acceptance of a certificate issued under this section or conduct of activity authorized under this section will not subject the certificate holder to the Natural Gas Act jurisdiction of the Commission except to the extent necessary to enforce the terms and conditions of the certificate.

[Order 537, 56 FR 50246, Oct. 4, 1991, as amended by Order 544, 57 FR 46501, Oct. 9, 1992; Order 581, 60 FR 53074, Oct. 11, 1995]